The original Everglades extended from the
headwaters of the Kissimmee River,
south through Lake Okeechobee to the tip of Florida peninsula, just
to the coastal ridge, and west
to Immokalee Ridge.
Everglades National Park:
Everglades National Park is a national park
in the U.S. state of Florida
that protects the southern 25 percent of the original Everglades.
It is the largest subtropical
wilderness in the United States, and is visited on average by one
million people each year.
- It is the third-largest national park in the lower 48 states
after Death Valley and Yellowstone.
- It has been declared an International Biosphere Reserve, a World
Heritage Site, and a Wetland of
International Importance, only one of three locations in the world
to appear on all three lists.
The Everglades National Park covers 1,509,000
acres and was created to protect a fragile ecosystem
instead of safeguarding a unique geographic feature. The Everglades
are wetlands created by a
slow-moving river originating in Lake Okeechobee, fed by the
Kissimmee River, and flowing southwest
at about 0.25 miles per day into Florida Bay.
The park protects an interconnected network
of marshland and forest ecosystems that are maintained
by natural forces. Thirty-six species designated as threatened or
protected live in the park,
including the Florida panther, the American crocodile, and the West
Indian manatee.
The park contains the largest mangrove
ecosystem in the western hemisphere.
All of South Florida's fresh water, which is stored in the Biscayne
Aquifer, is recharged in the park.
The Evergaldes Safari Park itself is in the heart of the
Evergaldes.
For many early pioneers, the Everglades was a vast wasteland whose
potential could only be achieved by draining
the wetlands and covering them to more "usable" acreage. More than
700,000 acres of the original Everglades
immediately south of Lake Okeechobee were drained for agricultural
usa and, later, urban and residential
development. What was once part of the Everglades now contains
farmland.
Although humans have lived in the Everglades for thousands of
years, not until 1882 did the region
begin to be drained for agricultural or residential use.
In the 20th century the natural water flow from Lake Okeechobee was
controlled and diverted to the
explosive growth of the South Florida metropolitan
area.
Geology:
The terrain of South Florida is relatively
and consistently flat.
Although rock formations are not a central draw to Everglades
National Park, the limestone that underlies
the Everglades is integral to the formation of the diverse
ecosystems within the park.
Florida was once part of the African portion of the supercontinent
Gondwana.
After it separated, conditions allowed a shallow marine environment
to deposit calcium carbonate in sand,
shells, and coral to be converted into limestone.Tiny bits of
shell, sand, and bryozoans compressed over
multiple layers forming unique structures in the limestone called
ooids which created porous and permeable
conditions to hold water.
To explain:
Limestone is the porous, sedimentary rock you see in the
Everglades.
These rocks are made of calcium and contain fossils of sea life,
evidence of ancient seas that once covered
the area. The limestone aquifer under the Everglades acts as the
principal water recharge area for all of
south Florida.
The Florida peninsula appeared above sea
level between 100,000 and 15,000 years ago.
As sea levels at the end of the Wisconsin ice age rose, the water
table appeared closer to land.
Lake Okeechobee began to flood and convection thunderstorms were
created.
Vast peat deposits south of Lake Okeechobee indicate that regular
flooding had occurred about 5,000 years
ago. Plants began to migrate, subtropical ones from the northern
part of Florida, and tropicals carried as
seeds by birds from islands in the Caribbean.
Although the limestone shelf appears to be
flat, there are slight rises—called innacles—and
depressions
caused by the erosion of limestone by the acidic properties of the
water.
The amount of time throughout the year that water is present in a
location in the Everglades determines
the type of soil, of which there only two in the
Everglades:
peat, created by many years of decomposing
plant matter,
and
marl, the result of dried periphyton, or
chunks of algae and microorganisms that create a grayish
mud.
Portions of the Everglades that remain
flooded for more than nine months out of the year are usually
covered by peat. Areas that are flooded six months or less are
covered by marl. Plant communities are
determined by the type of soil and amount of water
present.
The Ecosystems fresh water:
First: Freshwater Slough
A slough is a low-lying area of land that channels water through
the Everglades.
These marshy rivers are relatively deep and remain flooded almost
year-round.
Though they are the main avenue of waterflow, the current remains
leisurely, moving only about 100 feet per day.
Dotted with tree-islands, the vast Everglades landscape channels
life-giving waters from Lake Okeechobee southward.
Everglades National Park contains two distinct sloughs. On the west
is the larger Shark River Slough,
also known as the "River of Grass."
The smaller, narrower Taylor Slough lies to the east of Shark River
Slough.
Both sloughs discharge into Florida Bay. A series of other sloughs
that flow through the Big Cypress Swamp supply
freshwater to western Florida Bay and the Ten Thousand
Islands.
Second: Freshwater Marl Prairie
Large areas of freshwater marl prairie border
the deeper sloughs of the Everglades.
These relatively short-hydroperiod marshes are typified by a
diverse assemblage of low-growing vegetation.
A complex mixture of algae, bacteria, microbes, and detritus that
is attached to submerged surfaces, periphyton
serves as an important food source for invertebrates, tadpoles, and
some fish.
Periphyton is conspicuous and is the basis for the marl soils
present.
The marl allows slow seepage of the water but not rapid
drainage.
Though the sawgrass is not as tall and the water is not as deep,
freshwater marl prairies look a lot like
freshwater sloughs.